Broadhead fee reflects ‘real Championship quality’

Manager Phil Parkinson says Wrexham had to break their own transfer record to get “real Championship quality” in signing Nathan Broadhead.

Wales forward Broadhead, 27, has joined from Ipswich Town on a four-year deal which could eventually be worth £10m.

Wrexham’s previous record transfer fee was believed to be in excess of £3m when they signed midfielder Lewis O’Brien from Nottingham Forest in July.

“The fee has been out there at £10m but I think we have to get to the Premier League and win the Champions League to get to that,” Parkinson told BBC Sport Wales.

“But it’s a price for a player of real Championship quality.

“The fee with Ipswich had been agreed a for a long time, obviously they wanted to sign a player so we had to be patient.

Bangor-born Broadhead was in the final year of his contract with Ipswich, where he scored 23 goals in 83 appearances.

Last season Broadhead, who started his professional career at Everton, scored two goals in 18 Premier League games for Kieran McKenna’s side.

“He’s just got that Championship pedigree, the ability to create something in tight situations, you need players to unlock the door and create key moments in games and Nathan’s got that,” Parkinson added.

“He’s shown it at Ipswich at levels over the past few seasons and obviously the story of him coming home is a great one as well.

Broadhead is Wrexham’s ninth signing since they were promoted from League One last season – their third successive automatic promotion.

The Dragons have broken their transfer record on numerous occasions since Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney took control of the club in 2021.

Parkinson acknowledged the backing of the club’s owners in preparing a squad to compete in the Championship this season.

“I think it’s key – there’s a lot of spending power in the division,” Parkinson said.

“I think from day one we’ve moved so quickly and we’ve always had to work hard as a club to fast track the quality level for the first team as we’ve always played catch-up.